Unix Notes

Over the last 20 years, I have worked with various Unix-style operating systems, including BSD, Sun's SunOS, SCO Xenix, SCO Unix, Sun's Solaris, DEC Ultrix, DEC's OSF/1, Novell's Unixware, FreeBSD, IBM's AIX, SGI's Irix, Apple's Mac OS X, and of course that thing which people refer to as "Linux".

The economics of Unix, and Bell Labs and the evolution of computer operating systems, starting in the 1960's is fascinating, when you look at the forces that came to make the current OS landscape what it is. If this interests you, start with the following reference: Carterfone (and the resulting dominoes that prevented AT&T from offering UNIX as a commercial product).

In 2008, there are two major viable threads of freely-available, open-source Unix-like systems, one being Linux, and the other BSD (Net/Free/Open). You may know others, and they may become important, but these two are the obvious leaders. Each has its strong points, each has its weak points.

The term "Linux" really refers not to an operating system, but to the Linux Kernel, which is the defining elemen in a group of operating systems referred to as "distributions". The differences between distributions are as significant in many respects, as the differences between Solaris and Irix and Mac OS X and FreeBSD. The thing called Linux has little to do with a user interface, and more to do with the operating system's guts, and its relationship to its hardware. The evolution of the Linux Kernel is somewhat jumpy and chaotic, and when attempting to develop or compile or install applications, one will frequently find one's self stranded in Version Mismatch Hell (VMH).

Just like learning a language, or a computer programming language, or more than one way to drive to work, getting your head into more than one OS will give you perspective on your first one.

Below are links to some things that I have kept notes on over the last few years.

Linux

Notes on compiling RoseGarden under Slackware 12.0